Apartments intended for elderly and/or handicapped persons are now usually equipped with alarm devices, for example alarm buttons, which can be positioned next to the bed, in the bathroom and/or immediately above floor-level at various points in the apartment.
Also previously disclosed (see Swedish Publication No. 355 683) is the execution of alarm systems connected to the toilet flushing system. The manner in which the system functions is that the alarm is given if flushing does not take place for a certain period.
Alarm systems are also familiar in industry. See European Patent No. 0 049 659, which relates to the acoustical monitoring of industrial installations, whereby unforeseen phenomena are detected by the measurement and signal processing of sound waves at different sensor locations.
The alarm systems referred to above suffer from certain disadvantages and do not solve problems which can occur in the circumstances described above. For example, appliances, hot plates or irons can be left on by mistake, resulting in overheating and the risk of fire. The previously disclosed systems are also unable to show whether the occupant of the apartment has modified his/her pattern of living, for example by using the cooker and other appliances at unusual times, which may be taken as an indication that everything is not right. Furthermore, the previously disclosed systems do not indicate with sufficient rapidity any deviations from the normal pattern of behaviour. For example, if the occupant of the apartment falls and is unable to reach the alarm button, it can take many hours, and even up to 24 hours, before the toilet flush alarm is triggered and help arrives.